Title
AN ACT AMENDING TITLE 57 OF THE CHEROKEE NATION CODE ANNOTATED AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Body
BE IT ENACTED BY THE CHEROKEE NATION:
Section 1. Title and Codification
This act amends Title 57 of the Cherokee Nation Code Annotated and shall be codified at Title 57, Section 21 of the Cherokee Nation Code Annotated.
Section 2. Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to ban possession of contraband in jails and penal institutions within the Cherokee Nation.
Section 3. Legislative History
LA-22-08 LA-08-12
Section 4. Amendments
Title 57 shall be amended as follows:
TITLE 57
CHAPTER 2
GENERAL PROVISIONS
§§ 18-20. Reserved
§ 21. Bringing or Possessing Contraband in Jail or Penal Institution- Penalties
A. Any person who, without authority, brings into or has in their possession in any jail, penal institution, or other place where prisoners are located, any gun, knife, bomb or other dangerous instrument, any controlled dangerous substance as defined in Section 2101 et seq. of Title 21 of this code, any intoxicating beverage or low-point beer, or money, or financial documents for a person other than the inmate or a spouse of the inmate, shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a term of imprisonment not to exceed (3) years, or by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
B. If an inmate is found to be in possession of any item prohibited by this section, upon conviction, such inmate shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by a term of imprisonment not to exceed three (3) years.
C Any person who, without authority, brings into or has in their possession in any jail, penal institution, or other place where prisoners are located, cigarettes, cigars, snuff, chewing tobacco or any other form of tobacco product shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment not to exceed one (1) year, or by a fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
D. Any person who knowingly, willfully and without authority brings into or has in their possession in any secure area of a jail or penal institution or other secure place where prisoners are located any cellular phone or electronic device capable of sending or receiving any electronic communication shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two (2) years, or by a fine not exceeding Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment.
E. Any electronic communication device which has no identifiable owner and which is seized as a result of a violation of this section may be disposed of or sold by the agency that seized the device.
F. "Electronic communication" means any transfer of signs, signals, writings, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photo-electronic, or photo-optical system, and includes, but is not limited to, the transfer of that communication through the Internet.
Section 5. Provisions as cumulative
The provisions of this act shall be cumulative to existing law.
Section 6. Severability
The provisions of this act are severable and if any part of provision hereof shall be held void, the decision of the court so holding shall not affect or impair any of the remaining parts or provisions of this act.
Section 7. Effective Date/Emergency Declared
It being immediately necessary for the welfare of the Cherokee Nation, the Council hereby declares that an emergency exists, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force after its passage and approval.
Section 8. Self-Help Contributions
To the extent that this Act involves programs or services to citizens of the Nation or others, self-help contributions shall be required, unless specifically prohibited by the funding agency, or a waiver is granted due to physical or mental incapacity of the participant to contribute.